My Brother's Best Friend
by Tswift20
Summary: What happens when you meet your brother for the first time, and then the love of your life? But things are never that simple.
1. Prologue

It is a snowy evening in Columbus, Ohio. A daughter and her mother are reading a bedtime story. The daughter, Bella, turns to her mother Renee after the story is finished. She has a curious and sad look on her face.

"Mommy, where is my daddy?" She asks, close to tears.

Renee sighs. She knew this day would come but she didn't expect it so soon. Her daughter was only 6 after all.

"Everyone else has a daddy except for me. And this boy Toby keeps making fun of me for it."

"Bella, your dad," she sighs, "He had to move for work and I wanted to stay here."

"But then why would he not want to visit me?" Bella cries.

"Bel, your too young to understand. But he doesn't know about you. I will explain it to you when your older. But he lives in a far away place called New York."

"Why would he not know about me?" She pushes.

"Because, Bel, I found out about you after he decided to move to New York. And I didn't want to ruin his opportunity."

"Do you think though, mom, if he found out about me, he would love me?" She asks, worriedly.

"Of course he would! I have no doubt about that. Your dad is a great man. He would love you. When your older, you will understand why I did what I did. But for now, it's time for bed, baby." Renee says changing the subject. Renee gets off the bed and kisses her daughter's forehead.

"I love you more than anything baby." She says.

"I love you too mommy!" Bella exclaims and she turns around and closes her eyes.

Renee stares at her for a long time. She hadn't thought about her ex Charlie in a long time. Things did not end great between the two of them but she didn't want to tell Bella about that. He really was a great man. But Renee had pushed him away, because she wanted to be free to travel and live her life how she wanted, while Charlie was ready to settle down. She had realized what she was doing too late. And by then, he was moving to New York. All too ready to get away from the painful memories of their divorce. She hadn't found out about Bella until months after he moved away. And by then she thought it would be too painful to contact him again. Renee stares at her daughter worriedly. She knows that is not the end of it. Her daughter was a curious and smart child. She would want to know more about her dad. She just hoped that she would be able to put it off as long as possible.


	2. Chapter 1

**Authors Note: Hi everyone! Sorry I meant to leave an authors note in the first chapter. Thanks to all of you who have already reviewed/favorite/followed my story. This story is a little different from my other one but I hope you enjoy it! And please feel free to message me if you have any questions! All mistakes are my own.**

**14 years later**

"Shit, no, no, no," I screamed and pounded my fist against the wheel. This was not happening. I was so close to New York and my car had to break down now? Seriously?" I let out a growl of frustration.

"This is not happening!" I yell again, putting my head down on the wheel. I had come to New York to find my mom. She had been missing for the last two weeks and hadn't tried to check in with me. I was starting to get worried. She called me every week to check in. Even when she was on one of her business trips. So I went looking for her. I knew she had business in New York, and that she was meeting with someone named Jasper. And that he worked for a coffee business. But that all I really knew. I was stupid to make this long ass drive by myself. I had never really drove this far on my own. And I had barely any money. Not enough to last for more then a couple of days in New York.

"I am so stupid." I think to myself as I lay my head back down. I should have brought my friend Jake with me. He would be so pissed to find out that I was making this drive by myself.

After calming down and deciding that I had sat here and was having a pity party for too long I lift my head and start to think through what I was going to do next. But before I could I hear a noise. _Knock Knock._

"Oh shit." I yelled and jumped. I hear laughter and look out the window. There is an attractive hulk of man smiling at me and signaling me to roll down my window. I sat there for a second wondering what I should do. I mean this was New York after all and you can't trust a random guy who comes up to your car window. Especially someone who was a big as he was. After some debate I decide, to at least talk to him and see if he could help me. But I grab my pepper spray and put it in my lap. I roll down my car window.

"Hi, sorry I didn't mean to scare you. I just wanted to see if you needed some help." I'm Emmett." He says putting out his hand for me to shake.

I look at him hesitantly. Still not sure I could trust him. He must have noticed how uncomfortable I was because he put his hands up. "I promise I am not an axe murderer." He said laughing. "I know it probably would scare someone new to the city to accept help from a stranger." He says, trying to comfort me. Noticing I was still hesitant and not speaking he handed me his phone.

"Here, you can call AAA. I will even stand back here so that I can give you your privacy." He backs up and put his hands up.

"I don't have AAA." I say looking down at my lap embarrassed because I couldn't afford to have it.

"Oh okay. Well do you want me to give you a ride into town? Or at least look at your car? I don't know a lot about them but my wife loves working on cars and she taught me a thing or two." He asks me questioningly.

I look at him for a second. He seemed nice and genuine. And he is married. That bummed me out for a minute because he was totally hot. But its probably for the best. I didn't need anything to tie me here. Besides, _if he was trying to take advantage of me he would have probably already done so by now." I think to myself._

"Yeah that would be great, thank you!" I say smiling at him. Regardless of my decision to trust him, I hold on to his cellphone and pop my engine hood. He comes around the side and he looks inside my engine laughing.

_What the hell is he laughing about? I wonder._

I see that he is tinkering around with the parts. After about a half an hour he comes back over to my window.

"I think its your engine. We might need to come into town and go see my wife."

"Okay, yeah thanks." I said sighing. But also deciding to trust him. I get out of the car. I follow him over to his jeep and get in.

"So," he says looking over at me as he is starting his car. "What brings you to town?"

"My mom." I said sighing. "She went out of town to meet someone named Jasper who works for Twilight coffee. But I haven't seen or heard from her in two weeks."

"Twilight coffee, huh?" He says with a curious tone. I look over at him.

"Yeah, have you heard of it?" I ask.

"I have. In fact, I know the owner pretty well. Do you want me to take you to him?" He asks questioningly.

"Oh wow. What a crazy coincidence." I say, smiling. "Yeah that would be great."

"Okay, cool. I'll take you there. And then to my wife. And she and I can drive you back to your car. She has a tow truck. It's kind of her side business." He says laughing.

"Okay, yeah that would be great thank you. Not to be rude or anything, but why are you being so nice?" I ask him curiously.

"Total honesty?" He questions me and looks at me for confirmation. When I nod he continues. "I saw you when your car broke down. You were hitting your car steering wheel. And you looked sad. And you kind of remind me of my wife. I think you guys would get along great." He says looking over at me. Trying to gauge my reaction.

"That's actually sweet, thank you." I say smiling. Glad to find one friendly face to talk to. We talk and get to know each other on the drive in. He is really sweet and was definitely someone I think I could become friends with. _Too bad I wont be here long." I think to myself. _I had always wanted to move to New York. Ever since I was a kid. It might have been mostly because of my dad if I was being honest. It was a way for me to feel closer to him. But after my mom told me that my dad died it was just sad being here.

"Okay, we are here." He says looking over at me. Pulled from my thoughts I look up. We are at a large apartment building near the city. This is where Jasper lives?" I ask him apprehensively. "_This is bigger than any apartment building I have ever seen in Columbus._" I think to myself.

Emmett nods his head. He notices I am nervous and puts his hand on my shoulder, I'll take you in."

I breath a sigh of relief. "Thank you." I say sighing. We walk in the building, and get in the elevator. Emmett pushes the button to go to the top floor. The penthouse of course." I sigh. "Stupid rich people." I think to myself rolling my eyes.

When we reach the top floor and the elevator doors open, I see two big burly men standing outside the door.

"_Shit, what does this guy do?"_ I think to myself as we walk up to the door.

"Emmett this isn't a good time." One of the burly guys says, putting his hand on Emmett's chest.

Emmett pushes his hand off of him in disgust. "Jasper would want to see her trust me. She is Renee's daughter." He says angrily. The burly guy looks over at me surprised and then back at Emmett.

"Okay." He says gruffly. "Just make it quick." He says opening the door and then looks straight ahead again.

I look at both of the men confused. "These people are weird." I think to myself as I walk in the door.

As soon as I walk in I can tell this guy is loaded. His apartment was huge. It had two stories, one that I assumed led up to the bedrooms. And there were several huge windows all looking out to the city. After doing a quick scan I see a tall blonde guy standing by the bar and drinking.

I am pulled from my thoughts when I hear Emmett speak, "This is Bella," Emmett says looking at Jasper. She is looking for her mom, Renee." Jasper's turns around and his eyes darken for a second. He looked angry. But then his features quickly changed and he smiled.

"Hi, Bella. Your looking for Renee?" He asks me smiling.

"Yeah." I said looking around and keeping my arm around myself. I was feeling uncomfortable about the situation. Honestly, he gave off a really scary vibe. He was rich and powerful. That much was obvious. And he probably never had trouble getting what he wanted.

I pull myself from my thoughts. I had one thing to do here. And regardless of how intimidating this guy was, I had one reason for being here. And I needed to get to the bottom of it. "What business do you have with my mom." I ask him trying to sound hard but probably failing.

He looks at me for a moment. It was scary. It was like he was trying to get a read on me. "Its…complicated." He says hesitantly. "That's probably something you should talk about with your mom. I'm Jasper by the way." He says holding his hand out. "Jasper Hale." I stare at him for a long time. I recognized that name. He had been on the news a lot. There were a lot of rumors about him. About the kind of business, he did. I should have known. The coffee business was a front. I looked at him uncomfortably. He was linked to the mob.

"What are you getting my mom into? If its something dangerous…." I say angrily.

"So clearly, you have heard of me." He says, smiling.

"I have see you on the news. Your on there a lot." I said uncomfortably looking around.

But I was angry. How could my mom get involved with the mob?

"Look I'm not going to assume I know you. Or anything about what you do. But if you so much as put her in danger. Or risk her going to jail I will…. I said angrily.

He holds his hand up stopping me. "There is no risk she will go jail. I can personally guarantee that." He says smiling. I look at him for a long hard minute. I can tell he uses his smile to charm women. I roll my eyes. I was not going to fall for it. When I begin to speak again, and try to find out what she is getting involved with I hear the door open. I look around and see…my mom? I stare at her for a minute in disbelief. I guess I didn't fully believe that she would be here. That she would actually be making deals with the mob. But before I can think about it further I rush over to her, because regardless of what was going on she was still my mom. And I was relieved to know that she was at least alive.

"Mom? "Thank god you okay. You scared the shit of me, why haven't you called me back." I ask in a rush, hugging her, not even pausing to take a breath. She may have her faults but she was still my mom and I wanted her to be okay.

"Bella What are you doing here?" She asks, sounding angry and surprised.

"What do you mean what am I doing here?" I ask incredulously. "You haven't been answering my calls for the last two weeks. I was freaking out." I said hysterically.

"I am sorry to worry you, Bells." She said taking my arms. But she was way too calm. "I just had some business to take care of with Jasper." She says, looking over at him.

"What kind of business mom." I ask her seriously. "Are you in some sort of trouble?" I ask her questioningly. I knew that these guys were scary and dangerous.

"Honey, don't worry about it. Everything is fine. It's a new job opportunity for me. One that will bring us a lot of money." She said trying to reassure me. But this looked sketchy. I looked over at the man she called Jasper.

"What business do you have with my mother?" I ask again. Trying to sound scary but probably not coming off that way. I needed to get to the bottom of this. And if she didn't answer maybe he could.

"Your mom and I are working on an investment opportunity. Its completely on the up and up." He says, again smiling at me.

"_Does he work for a damn toothpaste commercial_." I think to myself, rolling my eyes.

"Look, I don't know what the hell is going on here. But we don't need this. We don't need this drama in our life. And we definitely do not need to be involved with anything illegal." I say angrily. "Come on mom we are leaving." I say tugging on her arm.

"Baby, why don't you go downstairs for a minute while I finish up."

"But mom- "

"No arguments, Bella." She says in a stern voice. I sighed looking at my mom and then at Jasper. Realizing I was never going to change my moms mind I look back at her.

"Okay, fine. But this better make us a shit ton of money. Because that is the only thing that will make this worth it." I say angirly. "And you," I say looking at Jasper and pointing. "Do not do anything to put my mom in jail." I say. Growling in frustration I start towards the door. Just as I was about to turn the knob of the door it burst open.

"Jasper, I know your busy but we need to talk." An older man says bursting into the room. I look at him for a second not believing my eyes.

"Dad?" I ask questioningly. I had seen old pictures of him. He looked exactly like my dad. _But that's impossible, I think to myself disbelievingly. My mom said he was dead." _I look over at Jasper and he is shaking his head. Apparently he didn't know anything about this either. I turn back around still not believing what I am seeing. Is this a joke?" I ask confused and hurt.

"Yeah, honey it's me." He says sighing. There is silence for several minutes.

"This is your daughter, Charlie?" Jasper says to him in disbelief.

"Yes," he says. "Bella is my daughter." Charlie says look at Jasper. Jasper shakes his head and laughs hollowly.

I look at Jasper and then to Charlie. "What..are you…I don't understand." I ask him confused. I was so close to tears but I didn't want to show that. "Mom what the hell is going on?" I ask turning to my mom. "You told me he was dead!" I cried.

"Bel I-" She said reaching for me.

"No, no don't come up with excuses. I want to know what the hell is going on."

"Bella," Renee says pleadingly, "I knew how much it pained you. That your dad wasn't in your life. The truth was that your dad ran away. To be with his real family." She says rolling her eyes and using air quotes. "I didn't find out about it. Until about 10 years ago. I thought he just left because he wanted a different life. But it turns out he had another family in New York that he wanted to go back to. And I was hurt. But I didn't want you to feel that way. I didn't want it to touch you. So I lied. And said he died. I'm so sorry." She said in tears.

"So I have been lied to my entire life." I said scoffing and rolling my eyes. "That's just great mom. Any other surprises your keeping from me?

"Bella I think you should hear her out-" Jasper says trying to sound rational.

"Will you stay out of this? How is this any of your damn business?" I asked him incredulously turning around towards him.

"Bella-" Charlie sighs. "Bella, Jasper is your brother."

"My-my brother?" I ask in disbelief. "Jasper is my brother?" I ask, sighing and running my hand through my hair, and towards my dad looking for confirmation.

"Yes, Bella. Jasper is your brother." Charlie says apologetically. There is silence for several moments while I try to process what is going on.

This was unbelievable, and say as much. "This is unbelievable; I say laughing hollowly." I can't-I am not doing this right now. I have to go." I say grabbing my coat and walking towards the door.

"Bella wait-" Charlie says reaching out towards me. "Bella we need to talk about it-" "You can't just leave-" Everyone was yelling at me. But this was honestly too much for me to handle. I came here to find my mom and found out about a whole new life. And a whole new family. I run out of the building intent on getting the hell out of here and back to Ohio. But I stop just outside of the apartment building. And I look around. I quickly realized that I had nowhere to go. I was new to the city and didn't know where anything was.

"Damnit." I yelled frustrated and running my hands through my hair, looking through my purse. I needed to think. Figure out what I was going to do.

"Bella-" I hear a voice out of breath and calling out to me hesitantly. "WHAT." I yell and look over to see Emmett. I sigh. "Oh Emmett, sorry." I say sighing. "Sorry it been a- rough night." I say pulling out a cigarette from my purse.

"Yeah I heard." He said looking at me sympathetically.

"Look I don't want your sympathy," I say frustrated. "I just need a place to stay for the night to process everything that's going on. But I am new to the city and don't know where anything is." I say pulling out a cigarette and lighting it. I only smoked when I was really frustrated.

"Well why don't you stay with my wife and I until you figure things out." He says questiongly. I look over at him surprised.

"Your family." He says vehemently. "Jasper and I aren't blood related but he is the closest thing I have to a brother. And I know he has a reputation, but he is really a good guy. And family is the most important thing to me-and him." he says looking at me meaningfully.

"I don't want to talk about my brother right now." I say rolling my eyes.

"Okay, Okay I get it." He says holding up his hands. I wont try to push anything between you two. But trust me when I say, he would make a good brother," he says meaningfully to me.

I trusted Emmett for some reason. I didn't know what it was. But he had such a genuine personality, almost like a child. So I couldn't help but trust him.

Knowing I didn't want to talk about it anymore he clears his throat and changes the subject.

"Why don't I call some of my friends and we can go out for a drink. It looks like you need one." He says laughing. _Does this guy ever not seem happy?" I ask myself._

"Besides," he says, "It seems like you could you some friendly faces in New York until you figure out what you want to do." He says knowingly. Probably thinking I am going to stay in New York until I figure out how I feel.

"_Like that's going to happen". I think to myself. Tomorrow, I am hopping in my car and I am out of here- "Oh shit my car." I think to myself. With all of the craziness of tonight I had forgotten that we abandoned my car."_

"_Shit-What about my car?" I ask, looking at Emmett and panicking._

"We will pick it up in the morning. Don't worry about it you have had a rough night." He says sympathetically putting his hand on my arm.

I looked at the time on my phone. It was already almost midnight. Exhausted and knowing nothing could be done tonight, I look at him and say, "Lead the way." Gesturing towards the busy streets.

He laughs. "Okay let's go meet everyone at the Key bar." Its this sweet bar in downtown New York."

"Okay, yeah I trust you." I laugh jokingly. He holds his arm out to me. "Okay m'lady", he says laughing. "Lets go."

I laugh at him and link arms. We walk toward to the bar. We walk in and of course it's crowded. This bar was nothing like I had seen before. Everyone was dressed to the nines. I come from Ohio where, while the town is big, its nothing compared to this. I couldn't help but feel intimidated. But I try to hide how uncomfortable I feel. Because whether I was ready to admit it or not, I knew I needed to try to fit in here. To see what it would be like to live here. I wanted family. I had always wanted family since I was little. And regardless of how it came about, this was it. As we walk towards the bar I see a gorgeous blonde and a petite brunette sitting by the door.

"Rosie, baby I'm here come here and love on me," Emmett says holding his hands out gesturing for a hug. I see the blonde turn around and roll her eyes. "Emmett your ridiculous." She says rolling her eyes. But regardless she smiles and gets out of her seat kissing her husband. Clearly they have a real love. One that no one understands but them. I smile at them. I wish I had something like that. I never had really been successful when dating, And I was honestly too young to get attached. I was about to turn 21 and I had plenty of time to figure out what I wanted… I am interrupted by a voice.

"Hi, I'm Alice, they are ridiculous aren't they." I hear a tinkering laugh and an arm shoot out. I look over and smile. She was a little pixie short and petite.

"Hi, I'm Bella." I say reaching for her hand. She looks at me for a second knowingly. Then she slaps my hand away and reaches for me. "There is no need to be so informal." Alice laughs and reaches for me to give me a hug. "Any friend of Emmett's is a friend of mine." She says smiling.

"Thank you, that's so sweet." I say, happy to find someone I could be friends with.

"So have you met the crew yet." Alice asks me rolling her eyes.

"The crew?" I ask questioningly.

"Yeah we are all a close knit group of friends. I am married to Jasper, Emmett obviously to Rosalie, and Edward- "

"Wait, your married to Jasper?" I asked shocked. Of course this would happen. I didn't even know for sure how I wanted him in my life yet, and Emmett drags me to a bar to meet his wife. I look over at Emmett and glare. But he Is to wrapped up with Rosalie to acknowledge me.

"Yeah, I am. Have you met him?" She asks questioningly.

"Yeah actually I have" I say hesitantly. Running my hands through my hair. I look down for a minute. But realizing I probably need to be straight with her I look up.

"I just found out tonight that he is my brother." I say to her, gauging her reaction. She chokes on her drink.

"Brother?" She manages to spit out.

"Yeah," I say laughing humorlessly. "Story of my life. I came looking for my mother and find out my dad Charlie is alive and that I have a brother. Funny how life works out." I say laughing and downing a shot of tequila. I look over at her. "Sorry I know you probably wouldn't want to find out this way." I say feeling bad I outed this whole situation with her before Jasper had a chance to talk to her.

"Damn girl." Alice says sympathetically. "I am sorry. Jasper and I honestly didn't know. If we did we would have reached out to you-" She says pleadingly.

"I know," I say holding out my hand to stop her. "I am not blaming you or Jasper for that matter-" I say trying to find the right words. "I am honestly trying to just piece this whole thing together. Because for the longest time I thought my father was dead. And I never knew I had a brother. So this is a lot to process. A lot more then I ever thought I would ever have to handle." I say sighing and downing another shot.

"I get it, girl." Alice says downing her shot too.

I look at her questioningly.

She sees me looking at her and sighs. "I have a complicated history with my family too. Maybe not to your level." She says looking at my sympathetically. "But definitely one that has messed me up when it has come to love. Trust me. Jasper" she sighs; "-he is a great. He was so patient with me in the beginning. I was scared to let myself believe that what Jasper and I had was real. We both hated each other at the start. But we fell in love, somehow. And he helped me believe that love was real. And not everyone…every guy, was out to get what they wanted no matter the cost. I am not trying to sway you." She says looking at me worriedly. "Or trying to force you to get to know him. But Jasper is more then what you hear on the news," she says knowingly. Probably sensing that was what my hesitation was about. "And family-that is the most important thing in the world to him. That is something you will soon find out. He wont stop trying to get to know you without a fight. Trust me on that." She says laughing putting her hand on my arm. She looks at me and noticing that I am uncomfortable she changes the subject.

"Okay, enough with the heavy." She says grabbing my hands. "Regardless of what happens with Jasper I can see already that we are going to be really good friends." She says smiling. "So tell me about yourself. Your life back home. I am guessing you are not from New York?" She asks questioningly. And I can tell she is excited. And genuinely interested in learning about me.

I sigh bracing myself. And I still had in the back of my mind that she was married to Jasper. But she seemed like a genuine person. And someone I could open up to and trust. "Well I am from Columbus, Ohio. And I have a lot of great friends at home. Especially my best friend Jake. He was there for me through all my family shit. He was honestly the only person I felt that I could count on." I say rolling my eyes. And my mom-" I say rolling my eyes. "I love her to death. I honestly do. But she has never really been successful in life. And would probably do anything to get rich. That's really why she is here in New York. And why I came here to find her. Because she was trying to get in on some business deal with Jasper. And I hadn't heard from her in weeks. SO I went looking for her and landed myself here." I say rolling my eyes. "I don't know what it is. And I am just worried she is going to get in on something illegal-no offense." I said putting my hand on hers.

"I don't pretend that I don't know what my husband does." She says rolling her eyes. "And trust me its not my favorite thing in the world to think about. I worry about him constantly and whether he will come home at night. But he did what he had to to get by. And have some kind of success in life. He was homeless when he was a kid you know?" She says looking at me, clearly with tears in her eyes. "He didn't know where his next meal was going to come from. His mom threw him out of the house. His stepdad-" she says hesitantly, "he used to beat his mom. While he had to sit there and watch. And finally when he got old enough and big enough he couldn't take it anymore. So he finally hit his stepfather back. And instead of doing anything about it his stepfather walked out. And instead of thanking him, his mom told him to get out and to not come back. So he did what he had to to get by. Until he met Carlisle. And he introduced him—to the business." She says letting out a breath, letting that settle for a moment. There was a long pause. "Whew sorry word vomit. That was probably something I should have let him tell you." She says looking at me worriedly. He doesn't like to talk about it. But I thought it was something you had to know. That Jasper is a good guy. Who had a rough start in life. "But anyways, I promised you fun." She says smiling at me and changing the subject. "I think more shots and a drinking game are in order!" Emmett, and Rose," she says reaching across me slapping Rosalie on the arm, "we are playing a drinking game. Stop pawing at each other and come socialize!" She shouts.

"Ouch, Jesus Allie you have an arm on you!" Rose says angrily. Emmett laughs and comes over to us, wrapping his arm around Rosalie's shoulder. Alice just laughs Rosalie off.

"Okay, what are we playing?" Rosalie finally asks. She looks around and her eyes finally land on me. "Who is this?" Rosalie looks at me appraisingly. I had to admit I was nervous as hell. This girl looked intimidating.

Emmett comes over to me and puts his arms around me. "Rosie, this is Bella. It turns out that she is Jasper's sister." He says smiling at me. I was kind of annoyed he would announce it so casually but I guess she would find out eventually with how close this group was. Emmett continues to speak, "Which means she is family." He says look at her pointedly. Begging her to be nice, no doubt.

She looks at me for a long moment before she speaks. "Jasper's sister huh? How did that happen?"

'Long fucking story," I say grumpily. "This was not something I want to talk about, particularly to someone who is coming off as such as bitch." I say angrily.

Normally I am not like that. I am a people pleaser. But I had a hell of a day. And I wasn't going to put up with this shit. She looks at me for a long time. I was wondering how long it was going to take before she clawed her long manicured nails against my face. But instead she cracks a smile. "I like her," she says smiling. "This girl's got guts. Not many people would stand up to me like that." She says laughing.

I sigh in relief, and she turns towards everyone saying, "Okay shots are on me!" She says signaling for the bartender. He brings over the shots, and she turns towards us again. "Okay, let's go find us a table."

We finally manage to find a table squeezed in the back. Alice obviously cannot contain her excitement about the game because she is bouncing in her seat. "Okay we are going to play, never have I ever" Alice says passing the drinks around. "I am assuming everyone knows how to play." She says look around at us. After a nod of confirmation, she continues. "Never have I ever…had an embarrassing one-night stand." She says quirking her eyebrow at Rosalie. Rosalie smirks, "You bitch." She says looking at Alice and laughing. She takes the shot.

Emmett looks at her shocked. What the hell babe?" He whines crankily.

"Oh relax." She says setting down the glass and giving him a quick peck on the lips. "It was way before I met you." She says laughing. When I look at him though Emmett is still pouting.

"Wait a second." Alice says looking at me. Noticing that I took my shot too. "You too Bella?" She asks with a glimmer in her eye. Looking impressed.

"Yeah, maybe." I say shyly. "It was college and he was hot." I say shrugging my shoulder.

"Well now we have to hear about it!" Alice says bounding in her seat excitedly.

"I don't know…" I say to her hesitantly. I wasn't one to share things about myself. I was pretty closed off. Only my closest friends knew this shit about me and I practically knew them since birth. But they all seemed to be friendly and trustworthy. And whether I liked it or not they were family. And would probably be in my life for a long time. Whether I was ready to admit it or not, I wanted a family. And Jasper did nothing wrong. He didn't even know I existed before tonight. But yet, based on what I saw tonight, and by what Emmett and Alice said, family was really important to him. And to be honest, I really could use a family. "God I was still confused about what I wanted…." I think to myself.

I bring myself out of my musings. "Okay," I said sighing and putting my face in my hands, "I will tell you. But please don't judge me." I say pleadingly.

"Don't worry we wont," Rosalie says putting her hand on my arm. "In fact I'll tell you my story if you tell me your story." She says **conspiratorially. **

**I sigh. "Okay, **Long story short, I woke up after a night…of a one-night stand…. with hickeys all over my neck. I was wearing a dress and heels. And I had to walk all the way back to my apartment. I should probably mention also that it was parent's weekend at my school." I said putting my head in my hands. "And I was really hung over, obviously. So I stopped to get food. And literally had to put my hair in front of my neck so no one would see. But it obviously didn't cover everything. Everyone saw my hickeys. And I kept getting dirty looks from all of the parents because I was obviously doing the walk of shame." I said shaking my head. I hadn't raised my head the entire time in fear of the look on everyone's faces. That was so embarrassing. And so unlike me.

I heard laugher and I looked up. Alice put a sympathetic hand on my shoulder. "Oh honey, we aren't laughing at you. It was just a little unexpected. You don't seem like that type of girl." She said trying to hide her laugh.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I think you owe me another shot for making that confession." I grumbled to Alice getting up from my seat.

"I can do that." She says laughing and getting up as well. We head towards the bar. The bartender notices me right away, and walks down to our side of the bar striding confidently and giving me a once over. I roll my eyes at Alice, and she just looks at me and then looks at the bartender laughing her ass off. And probably thinking this was hilarious. _I mean really? Did I not have enough drama in my life as it is? I wasn't even sure how long I was going to be here. And didn't want to start anything while I was here. And I knew enough guys like him to last a lifetime. The cocky bartender who just wanted to sleep with as many girls as they could. _When he finally reaches me his voice has a flirty tone to it.

"What will you have, beautiful?" He says smiling at me.

Ignoring the fact that he was flirting with me I say, hoping to sound annoyed, "Another round of tequila shots for all of us."

He pulls out the shot glasses and while making our drinks tries to start a conversation with me. "So are you new to town, I haven't seen you around here?" He asks me questioningly.

I sigh again, annoyed that he didn't seem to get the hint that I was not interested. "I am, actually. I am from Ohio."

"And what brings you here?" He asks smiling at me, and putting his hand on mine. So now not only was I annoyed I was starting feeling uncomfortable. Like he had to have an ulterior motive. And honestly, he was starting to creep me out.

'It's a long story." I say pulling my hand out from under his.

Not letting the fact that I moved away deter him, or the fact that I wouldn't answer his question, he leans in further towards me. "I'm James by the way, and you are?" He asks lifting his eyebrow and checking me out again. Giving me the once over.

"Bella" I say uncomfortably. I—look I need to go look for my friends." I say picking up my shots and starting to move away. I look around for Alice and see she is chatting with one of her friends. I am just about to walk towards her when I hear James again. But he has moved from behind the bar and was next to me.

"Oh come on babe. I am just trying to get to know you." He says, leaning over to brush his hand over my cheek. I had enough. This was too much to deal with in one night. I am just about to pull out my pepper spray and tell him to back off, when I hear an angry voice behind me. "Step the fuck away from my sister or not only will I call your manager over, who I happened to be friends with by the way, but I will also take you outside and beat your ass."

I turn around and see none other then Jasper and some bronzed hair guy I didn't know glaring over at James. _Shit they looks scary." I can't help thinking to myself. But I couldn't help also be annoyed. Because I barely knew him. And I didn't even know whether I wanted him in my life. He barely knew me. So what right did he have to try to interfere in my life?... I know I sounded irrational. He was trying to save me. But my feelings about my brother were so jumbled, I didn't know how to feel that moment. _

I am interrupted from my thoughts by James ,"Dude," he says raising his hand, 'I don't want any trouble. I didn't realize you were related. I will back off." He says turning around and walking towards the other side of the bar. _I sigh in relief. But at the same time, I knew that James probably backed off because he knew exactly who Jasper was. And while I appreciated what he did, I wasn't sure I wanted to have a mobster as a brother. And all of the strings that came with it._

When he sees that James was gone Jasper grabs me by the arm sounding worried, "Shit Bella are you okay? I knew that James was handsy but I never knew he would be so forwards towards a girl who was obviously uncomfortable.""

I turn towards him and rip my arm out of his grip. "Look, I appreciate your concern. But I can take care of myself. And I don't need your help." I say vehemently. I wasn't sure what I wanted from my relationship with Japer. But I sure as hell didn't want him making decisions for me about who I could and couldn't hangout with. Regardless of the fact that James was making me feel uncomfortable…Jasper made it seem like I couldn't take care of myself. That I was a little girl who needed someone to take care of her. But I didn't. I had been taking care of myself since I was sixteen years old. _Again with the back and forth_? I think annoyed at myself for not being able to make a decision about how I felt about Jasper.

"Bella, I was just trying to help," he says pleadingly. "I am not trying to tell you what to do. But James-" he says sighing, "he isn't a good guy." I just want you to be careful about the people you spend time with." He says with such conviction I couldn't help but want to believe him. He honestly, from the way he sounded, seemed like someone who genuinely cared about me and wanted to get to know me.

I sigh in resignation, "Thank you. He was honestly starting to creep me out. I just-" I say frustrated not really not knowing how to express how I feel. "Look I am sorry. I don't mean to come off hostile. I just don't know how to handle this whole situation. Before tonight I didn't know I had a dad. Let alone a brother. So I need to figure out how to process this. I hope you understand. I just—needs some time." I say to him pleadingly.

"He looks at me sympathetically. "I get it, Bella. I didn't know I had a sister until now either. But I am honestly excited to get to know you. Family is so important to me. And I hope, at some point, you will want to get to know me too." He says with such conviction that again, I felt like maybe I could believe him. _Maybe having a brother, despite his faults, wouldn't be so bad after all…._


End file.
